The invention is directed to a method of balancing a vehicle wheel assembly, such as wheel assemblies of passenger and truck vehicles and aircraft.
The related art directed to the present invention is exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 2,909,389 in the name of John C. Wilborn which was granted on Oct. 20, 1959. In accordance with this patent, globular weights are placed in a tube which is eventually placed in a biased tire and the tire is eventually placed upon a wheel which is in turn placed upon a vehicle. When the wheel rotates the weights are thrown against the inner surface of the outer wall of the tube and the imbalance of the wheel is said to be corrected by the position assumed by the globular weights. This method is said to avoid the conventional method of balancing wheels of motor vehicles by crimping lead weights on the edges of the rims of the wheels, and through proper balancing, vibration of the vehicle is lessened and so too should be uneven wear on the tires, excessive wear on the bearings, the shock absorbers, the steering mechanism and other parts of the vehicle. The size, shape and design of the globular weights are not specified in this patent other than the obviously globular configuration best illustrated in FIG. 3. However, the same patentee had granted to him on Mar. 6, 1956 U.S. Pat. No. 2,737,420 in which a wheel is balanced by forming an annular channel in a rim into which a liquid is inserted along with globular weights. These globular weights are described in this patent as lead or steel shot. Accordingly, the patents collectively utilize globular weights of lead or steel shot per se or in conjunction with the liquid for balancing biased tires under the centrifugal force created during in use tire rotation.